When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Right?

There’s a lot to glean from turbulent times like the 2008 recession and the more recent COVID-19 pandemic. Within these periods are droves of case studies proving that whether or not a company comes out thriving is largely dependent on the strength of its marketing. It’s no coincidence that the ones who leaned in are the ones still prospering.

Take Hyundai, for example, a brand that launched the Hyundai Assurance Program in 2009 (a response to the 2008 recession), a campaign allowing customers to stop payments and return their cars in the event they were laid off. And while U.S. auto sales dropped by more than 20% in 2009, Hyundai’s U.S. sales increased by 8%.

Need further convincing? Read on for more examples and expert advice.

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Is another recession actually coming?

Predicting the next recession is like forecasting the weather (especially for those of us, like myself, living in temperamental London): Determining exactly when, why, and how severe a recession will be is challenging, considering the variety of factors impacting the markets that drive economic climates.

Still — and understandably — anticipation of the next recession is both pervasive and anxiety-inducing. One in three marketers think a recession will have an even bigger impact on marketing than COVID-19. According to HubSpot’s 2025 Marketing Report, 41% of marketers expressed negative sentiments about economic conditions impacting their marketing strategies.

“I think fear is what sits at the bottom of all of this,” says Robyn MacMillan, creative director and cofounder of The Everburn Agency. “The brands that can see past the kind of hill are the ones that actually are able to weather the storm.”

Is a recession imminent? Probably (some argue we’re already at the start of one). But does that mean you should panic? Definitely not.

What Marketers Can Learn From Past Slowdowns

“History has receipts,” says MacMillan. “Recessions don’t actually stop people from spending or purchasing. We still need services. We still need platforms.”

New 2025 HubSpot data on consumer spending habits backs her claim, finding that rather than slowing down or halting purchases, shoppers are reacting to a potential recession simply by spending more conscientiously.

“I interpret this as consumers being less panicked and more pragmatic about potential downturns because of what they learned about handling their financial situations from the economic effects of COVID-19 and post-pandemic inflation,” says Tristen Taylor, who conducted the survey.

In other words, your customers aren’t as panicked as you might think. So why should you be?

Take a breath and remember: Brands (you!) still need marketing — arguably even more during a recession than at any other time. And the brands that stay adaptable and focused can still grow.

Read on to discover top recession tips to bear in mind as a marketer.

Tips for Preparing and Navigating Recessions

1. Use data to connect with customers.

Recessions are vital times for marketers to audit their relationships with customers.

A crucial step in recession-proofing your strategy is gathering real-time data on consumer attitudes, preferences, and behaviors. With that insight, you can refine your marketing efforts — ensuring your messaging is not only timely, but truly resonates with your audience.

“We make too many assumptions as marketers,” says MacMillan. “Remove those assumptions and really connect to the data, see what sentiment analysis you can do to then see what your consumer needs right now.”

2. Don’t underestimate the power of social media — even if your budget is cut.

When asked which marketing tactics they’d prioritize if economic uncertainty continues, 23% of respondents in a 2025 HubSpot survey pointed to social media marketing. If you ask me, this number should be higher, considering HubSpot’s State of Consumer Trends report found that social media is the top channel for product discovery for Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X.

While a recession often means tighter budgets, that doesn’t mean your social strategy should take a back seat.

Here are a few high-impact, budget-friendly focus areas to keep your social presence strong without overspending:

User-Generated Content

User-Generated Content (UGC) — anything created and shared by customers — is one of the most powerful marketing tools. For one, it’s free. But more importantly, it drives organic trust, genuine engagement, and a sense of relatability.

We saw a surge in UGC during the pandemic. Why? “Because people had more time,” says MacMillan. And for many in-house marketing teams, it became a lifeline.

MacMillan vividly recalls one client, a cybersecurity company in Gothenburg, Sweden, that thrived by tapping into the power of UGC and leaning into relatable, everyday case studies. Rather than spotlighting complex product features or tech-heavy stats, they focused on human stories — like the one about an elderly mom who accidentally clicked a phishing link disguised as a promotion from M&S, which led to a bank account breach.

“Their scalability went off the charts as soon as they leaned more into that humanistic side that people crave during a fearful time,” MacMillan adds.

New Platforms and Features

In another recent HubSpot blog, I wrote about the social media platforms marketers should be keeping an eye on in 2025. The same advice stands on the recession-prep front.

Leveraging emerging features and trends like live video and audio can help your brand stay relevant and connected. If your brand is already active on Instagram (chances are, it is), consider how Threads can supplement your reach and engagement.

Plus, never underestimate the power of content that entertains. In stressful times, people crave reasons to smile and engage even more. Behind-the-scenes content is also effective for generating trust, giving your audience a genuine look at the people and processes behind your brand — something customers crave in uncertainty. Partake Foods, which coincidentally scaled massively during the pandemic, does a great job with this (as well as UGC).

3. Lean into the brand loyalty you have to keep growing your audience.

Heavily consider sharpening your strategy around personalized experiences — custom and individualized curations of messages, content, products, or experiences. Whether you offer a discount code to your most frequent customers or send them a personalized card thanking them for their loyalty, little tokens of appreciation can go a long way.

“Really lean into that community you’ve created — make sure that they are engaged, that they feel seen, heard and valued, rather than just being service,” MacMillan. “They’ll then become advocates and affiliates.”

4. Promote low-cost or high-value products.

Whether you’re selling affordable essentials or premium goods, the key during a recession is positioning: How you frame your value makes all the difference.

“If your products are cheaper or provide better bang for the buck than competitors’, focus on gaining market share from customers who previously swore by pricier options,” says Maxwell Iskiev, who leads research initiatives at HubSpot.

On the flip side, Iskiev wisely adds: “Meanwhile, luxury brands can focus on marketing the added value customers get for shopping with them. For example, a brand selling hand-stitched leather wallets can position itself as a longer-lasting alternative to a discount wallet.”

Affordable Tools and Technology to Leverage

One of the best ways to streamline efforts in particularly turbulent times is automating repetitive and manual tasks — from email marketing to social posts and ad campaigns. This not only saves time, but frees you up to focus on high-impact, strategic projects. AI can also help optimize your efforts, improving targeting, and driving down costs.

Below are a few tools I like that you might also find helpful.

1. Marketing Hub

While new technology can feel intimidating to implement at first, HubSpot’s offerings are fantastic tools you should be leaning into, if you’re not already.

HubSpot’s Marketing Hub comes equipped with AI and automation baked in, streamlining everything from onboarding to day-to-day use, even for teams that aren’t highly technical.

In my experience, the automated workflows, data collection for each lead, and prompts on how to connect with each prospect make Marketing Hub an invaluable asset for marketers. According to our research, automating basic tasks can save marketers up to 2.5 hours daily — meaning they have more time to invest in high-level tasks.

I also want to highlight a new feature that comes with the Professional and Enterprise plans: Breeze social media agent. It helps you from beginning to end with your social media strategy. It creates and automates a multichannel social media strategy for your brand by creating assets and posting them at ideal times. Breeze also keeps track of performance metrics so you can see engagement and success levels. It further analyzes audience data to expand your reach.

As I mentioned above, organic social media is an economical and highly effective form of marketing, so adding AI to help you maximize its potential is a must in my opinion.

Core Features

• Automation of manual tasks to save marketers time.
• AI agents to assist with social media management and assist visitors to your website.
• Lead scoring tools based on customer data for targeted outreach.
• Automated personalized email campaigns to reach your audience at scale.
• Data collection and analysis presented in clear dashboards so you can understand your customers and tweak your strategy accordingly.

Pricing: Free, Starter – $15 per seat/month, Professional – $890/month for 3 seats, and Enterprise – $3,600/month for 5 seats.

2. Buffer

If you want to zero in on social media marketing, another affordable automation tool for social media I like is Buffer.

Everything you need for a successful social media campaign is included in this single software tool with a straightforward interface. I can simply toggle the tabs at the top to Create, Publish, Analyze, and Engage for each piece of content. Buffer connects with all major social platforms, so you can design and format your content according to the requirements of each, plus schedule things to post at the best times.

I also like that I can see how my content is doing across all social platforms in one easy-to-use dashboard. Finally, Buffer keeps track of all your posts and audience comments so you can respond without anything slipping through the cracks. It makes the overwhelming task of staying on top of all social engagement manageable.

Core Features

• Create your campaigns with their design tools.
• Publish and track your social posts from a single platform.
• AI assistants help you at every step of the process.
• Content collaboration for multiple teammates to work together seamlessly.
• Social channels: Bluesky, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Mastodon, and X.

Pricing: Free – one user account and three channels; Essentials – $5/month for one user and one channel, but more features; Team – $10/month for unlimited users and one channel with all their features.

3. Hootsuite

Another all-in-one social media management platform, Hootsuite helps you create, manage, and sharpen your social media strategy.

I think its social listening feature is really helpful for finding and comparing trends, hashtags, topics, and events across social platforms. Staying on top of these things will help you monitor brand sentiment, track performance, and predict trends. Another advantage of their social listening tool is that you can find UGC and influencers who will work well with your brand and offering.

Not only does Hootsuite help you with organic social media, but you can also manage paid ads through your Hootsuite account. Your organic and paid strategies can work together seamlessly by watching what performs well and what doesn’t, and monitoring your ads across all platforms.

Core Features

• Publish and schedule all your social posts from one platform.
• Track and report on post, campaign, and ad performance.
• Inbox to collect all comments and DMs across your social assets so you can respond in a timely manner and never lose track.
• OwlyWriter AI helps write copy for your social posts, whether it’s captions, hashtags, or long-form posts. It also generates ideas so you never get stuck.

Pricing: Standard – $99 per user/month; Advanced – $249 per user/month; Enterprise – custom pricing.

4. Canva

Looking for a tool to assist with design? Canva remains a go-to creative powerhouse that every marketer should have in their back pocket.

You can design anything with Canva. It features thousands of templates and a drag-and-drop editor that lets you quickly personalize anything for your brand. I use it all the time, and I love the versatility it offers because I can create social posts with the right format for each platform, design web pages, and create presentations to share with my customers.

I especially appreciate that I can quickly create social posts that look professional and fit my branding with Canva. I can create a consistent aesthetic across all social channels using the same basic template from Canva.

Core Features

• The photo editor allows you to do basic photo editing all within Canva.
• The new AI assistant, while still in development, is a fun tool because you just have to enter a prompt with your idea and Canva will quickly generate multiple designs. You can then further prompt it to modify one you like but aren’t quite satisfied with.
• There are over 400,000 professionally designed templates in Canva’s template library. If you don’t want to start with a blank page, one of these templates is sure to give you the foundation to start designing.
• The drag-and-drop editor lets you visually design your creative assets without any coding.

Pricing: Canva Free; Canva Pro – $120/year for one person; Canva Teams – $100 per person/year; Canva Enterprise – custom pricing.

Remember: It’s not your first (or last) unprecedented time.

“Don’t amputate the arm that feeds your future,” warns MacMillan.

In other words, cutting marketing entirely during tough times might offer short-term relief, but it can cost you long-term growth. Turbulent times test resilience, but they also reward brands that continue to show up with clarity, creativity, and consistency.

We’ve learned from past recessions that those who invest thoughtfully in their marketing not only survive but often come out stronger.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in March 2023 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.